US – Breaking News

The other face of fascism
Lieberman’s ascent to power is not only a dilemma for Arabs and the US, but also for the Jewish lobby, writes Muqtedar Khan*

"American Jews… are dismayed by Lieberman, mostly because he represents values that we abhor" — Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism

A foreign minister is to the rest of the world the face of the nation he or she represents. They epitomise the values and politics of the nation and personify its culture, identity and values. Israel has a new face now and that face is the ugly visage of fascism. Currently it travels under the name Avigdor Lieberman.

Read More »The other face of fascism

The Kashmir Carnage

By Ibrahim Vawda

The Media Review Network (MRN) is alarmed at the ferocity of the brutal attacks by the Indian Security forces against the hapless Kashmiri population.

The MRN condemns the detentions and killings of civilians during peaceful demonstrations in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). Kashmir remains occupied as well as a disputed territory.   

The demonstrations were sparked by the vicious and ferocious killings carried out by the Indian security establishment in the Valley, which is made up of the notorious Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and over a million military personnel. Thus far over 50 innocent men, women and children have perished. The latest being a 7 year old boy whose brains were blown out when he was struck by a teargas canister.

The security forces in the Kashmir Valley act with impunity because they are protected by a series of draconian laws, rendering them (the security forces) unaccountable.

The MRN also notes with consternation the apparent silence or lack of coverage by the South African media of this mayhem.

The strategic location of the region demands that parallels be drawn with Palestine. Reminiscent of Israel, India is in defiance of numerous United Nations Resolutions, International Laws and the Geneva Conventions.

The Media Review Network urges our Government to seriously and urgently engage the New Delhi Government and demand the immediate and unconditional cessation of this unjustifiable carnage. The Indian Government should then enter into immediate dialogue with the people of Kashmir to resolve the six-decade old problem, by holding a referendum (plebiscite) as required by numerous UN Resolutions adopted over the years.

Read More »Press statement

Norman Finkelstein – (interview on Press TV)
 
‘Several weeks ago, I guess about six weeks ago, I joined a US delegation to Gaza to see the aftermath of the Israeli massacre and also to get some sense of what we can do. I met with people at all levels of Gazan society; people in orphanages, in schools, hospitals and I also had several meetings with senior officials in the government in Gaza and there was a consensus from the top to the bottom of Gazan society that the main obstacle they are now facing is the siege.

The devastation was horrific enough, but beyond the devastation, the problem now is they can’t rebuild anything. The whole place is just rubble because even six months after the Gaza massacre, no cement is allowed in, no glass is allowed in and everything is exactly as it was on January 18th when the Israeli assault ended…I then proposed, when we were meeting with the parliamentary representatives that we should attempt to break the siege non-violently with a march. And the idea was enthusiastically received both by the members of the government and by the people in Gaza.

So, we began to organize, in the US initially, an international coalition to end the siege of Gaza. We now have a European branch, in Lisbon and chapters in several countries in Europe. And the main challenge now is twofold: number one to enlist prominent moral authorities internationally in support of the march – and that is one of the reasons I am here, because South Africa has a high concentration of internationally prominent moral authorities; everybody ranging from Nelson Mandela to Bishop Tutu to Ela Ghandi and others.

The second thing is, we have to bring over bodies. The more people we bring over, the more likelihood that when we march, Israel won’t be able to shoot and we’ll be able to lift the siege. So we are hoping for several thousand people, including from the Arab world and from South Africa.’

Read More »March to Gaza

Cornered at last
Neither PR, the PA nor the US will help Likud, predicts Khaled Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem

With only one week in office, the new Israeli government is discovering in earnest that adopting an extreme platform with regard to the Palestinian issue is one thing and reconciling it with hard global political realities is quite another.

This inherent predicament is increasingly becoming "the" defining feature of a government considered the most right-wing, most bloated and most eccentric in Israel’s history.

Read More »Cornered at last